22271 Mon Dec 09 01:27:14 -0800 2002 3 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 82143 My family had dinner at Speisekammer in Alameda tonight. One of the specials at the moment is roast goose. I had a bite of my mother's and it was really delicious. In fact, I liked it better than my venison, although the venison was also very good. In general we all enjoyed out meals. One complaint I'd have is that they could use more variety in the accompaniments -- although we ordered three different entrees (my dad and BIL had the sauerbraten), they all came with the identical pile of red cabbage and spaetzel. Surely the Germans must eat vegetables other than red cabbage! (Okay, maybe they don't, but Californians, do -- surely there could be something in keeping with German food they could do with California veggies -- I'd settle for Brussels sprouts.) Still, it's a nice addition to the Alameda/East Bay dining scene. Mon Dec 09 01:27:14 -0800 2002 0 Ruth Lafler 1 82207 Ruth, your mention of the roast goose at Speisekammer was too tempting, so I dropped by this evening with my mother. Alas, they did not have the roast goose. The server was surprised too, for she thought they were going to have it every night at least through Christmas. I can say that it will be available on the 24th, since it is listed on the Christmas Eve menu they have printed up. My mother selected the sauteed trout in almond-butter sauce from the daily specials. She says it was excellent, moist, fresh, and tasty. And she's says to tell you that they do serve other things than red cabbage and spaetzle -- her entree came with boiled potatoes and green beans. I had the sauerbraten. I was pleasantly surprised -- so many places serve roast beef with a vinegary gravy. This meat had actually been marinated in vinegar/wine before being cooked. Not quite as good as ones I've had at home, but better than one I recall near the Frankfurt train station. This was indeed served with nearly ubiquitous red cabbage and spaetzle, for which I had a hankering. The meat was fork tender and the portion was plenty when combined with the cabbage and noodles. My mother enjoyed the gluhwein, which runs $4/glass. If you care to have the stollen for dessert, you can get it for another $2, or $4 by itself. The gluhwein must have been good, but being a non-drinker, I can't personally vouch for it. -Peter PS One warning -- watch out for the braided round rugs in the dining room. I stepped on one and it nearly slipped out from under me. Same thing happened to one of the servers. Almost as good as a banana peel! PPS Hmm. Think maybe I'll roast a goose on my own, just to try it out. Dittmer's (a sausage shop) sells frozen geese. Are fresh geese even available in the South Bay? Those aren't something I see at meat counters everywhere, but I'll admit I'm not normally looking! Link: http://www.alamedainfo.com/speisekammer_menu.htm Tue Dec 10 00:29:57 -0800 2002 82143 0 Peter Yee 2 82228 Sorry you missed the roast goose -- maybe they decided Monday night wasn't busy enough to roast a whole goose. You're right of course that they do have other side dishes -- I think I'm just used to Cal-Cuisine, where every dish has its own unique accompaniments. And we did happen to order three entrees that all came with the same ones (I, too, had a hankering for spaetzel, so I was happy to have it!). BTW, a cute story demonstrating the authenticity of the German roots of Speisekammer: In 1972, my parents (who are serious track and field fans) took me to the Olympics in Munich. We stayed on the outskirts of the city with a family that was renting out their MIL suite, and ate several times at the local Gasthaus (basically the neighborhood pub w/food). One of the specials on the bill of plain but good German/Bavarian fare was "Jaegerschnitzel mit Pfifferlings." My mother-the-chowhound was dying to know what pfifferlings were, but the very friendly proprietress knew no English, and our German wasn't up to regional food vocabulary. The dish continued to tantalize, because with a regretful shake of the head, the waitress always said "not tonight" when my mother enquired about it. So for 30 years my mother's curiosity about pfifferlings has gone unsated (although she did determine it was a type of mushroom). Speisekammer has Jaegerschnitzel on the menu, and my mother was prompted to ask the host if he knew what pfifferlings are. Ah, yes. Face lights up! They are his favorite kind of mushroom: a small wild mushroom like a miniature chanterelle. They are a seasonal specialty only available in the fall (we were there in late August/early September). So after 30 years, the mystery of the pfifferling is solved! Tue Dec 10 14:27:12 -0800 2002 82207 0 Ruth Lafler 3 82322 It probably was the slow Monday night that caused them not to roast a whole goose. Fortunately, today's San Jose Mercury News Food section has a whole article on doing roasted goose. It comes with accompanying recipes and sources for geese, so I'm going to go that route. -Peter Wed Dec 11 15:36:20 -0800 2002 82228 0 Peter Yee